You'll Always Still Be A Royal Couple To Us
by raccoonqueen
Summary: George and Nicole Raccoon are suffering a mid-life crisis and long to be younger. But what happens when the ghosts of two historical figures possess the couple? The residents of the forest are in for a shock of their lives...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Here's another hit from DA, this time it's "You'll Always Still Be A Royal Couple To Us".

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except mine (Harriet Snooper, Alphonse Snooper, Jenny Snooper, Angel Snooper, Farrell Labrador, Harry Shorthair, Thomas and Mary Labrador, Ellen Shorthair, E.T.C). The following characters belong to my friends on DeviantArt: Alicia, Melanie, and Zoza (Alicia Martin), Hillary Hyena and Ronald Smutt Jr. (Jose-Ramiro), Stephen Fox (Sricketts14381), Valentina Vixen (CartoonprincessML), and Michelle Raccoon (Michelleraccoon).

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Chapter 1

Springtime is here in the Evergreen Forest. The snow has melted, the trees are blooming, and the birds have returned from the South after having spent the winter in warmer areas. Of course, springtime is a season for rejuvination, but to George and Nicole Raccoon, it's the season when they started experience one of the most stressful times of their lives-a mid-life crisis.

It all started one morning, when Nicole woke up. She went to the bathroom and had gone to look in the mirror when she noticed something odd. Hidden within her grey fur was a strand of fur that was even grayer than the rest, and the moment she saw it her worst fears had been confirmed-she and George are starting to grow old! And so, with the help of one of their neighbors, they sought out a way to regain the youth that they were begining to lose.

"Here we are, fresh from the blender," said Jenny cheerily, as she proceeded to bring the blender over to Nicole. "This is the special recipe that has been passed down in my family for many generations. I call it 'The Silverfur Mud'."

Nicole sniffed the contents of the blender and frowned. She muttered, "It stinks."

"Hmmm, doesn't smell that bad to me. The original recipe called for real mud and swamp water, but this time I combined those with mashed avacadoes and a hint of vanilla extract to make it smell nice."

"Am I to eat or drink zis stuff?"

"No! It's for your face. And I assure you, this is a foolproof way to looking a lot younger in no time at all." Jenny grabbed a nearby wooden spoon, put it in the blender, and pushed the blender up to Nicole. But Nicole shook her head, pushed it back, and replied, "It depends on ze cure. Why not you try it first?"

"I would...but, seriously, Nicole, you _must_ try it. It worked for me, so it should work for you."

"No, I won't!"

"Fine! We'll try it together..."

"Okay."

Nicole grabbed the blender and they prepared to spread the stuff on their faces. "On ze count of three...one...two...three..."

At that momnent, George came in and saw Nicole and Jenny with the green mud on their faces. He said, "Let me guess...you two are prepping for clown school finals."

"Ha-ha, very funny, George," muttered Jenny sarcastically. "I'm helping Nicole find the cure for aging. She just told me her fur's graying a little more than usual, and...oh, speaking of which, what about your fur?"

"I guess you might say I'm in the same situation. Plus I'm beginning to gain weight."

"Then I have just the thing. Why not try some of my famous Silverfur Mud-"

"N-no thanks."

"Humph, suit yourself."

Just then, Angel came running in with Ellen in her arms. She shouted, "Mom, Mom, Mom! Oh, I have some VERY exciting news! You're never gonna believe this..."

"What is it, Angel?"

Angel took out a magazine and showed it to her. "There's word going around that there's going to be a spring decoration contest, here in the Evergreen Forest! And you will _never_ guess who's gonna be there."

"Really? Who is it?"

"I'm talking about the world-famous expert on interior and exterior decorating, the one, the only...Flora de la Fleur!"

Both women squealed happily and giggled. George spoke up, "Uh, Jen...a little help here?"

"Oh, sorry, George," replied Jenny. "I would love to stick around and help you and Nicole find ways to look younger, but there's been a change of plans. I'm going to team up with Angel to assist her in decorating the town for the Annual Evergreen Spring Fling Contest, so...I'm afraid you're gonna have to deal with the mid-life crisis alone."

Angel added, "Which reminds me-can you do me and favor and watch Ellen for me? I can't put up flowers and babysit at the same time, you know."

Nicole took Ellen from Angel and replied, "Um...all right. Good luck at the contest."

"Thanks! See you two later!"

As soon as Angel and Jenny had left, Nicole slammed the door. She muttered angrily, "Great! Now we wouldn't be able to be young again. What are WE supposed to do now?"

"Well, she did leave some 'Silverfur Mud' behind," replied George, picking up the blender. "It's just about enough for both of us."

"I don't recall you ever wanting to try on a face mask, George. You don't look like you have any wrinkles."

"Wrinkles? The only wrinkles I have are the ones that are on my forehead. And...isn't there one under your chin?"

"Aaagh! Zat does it! Zis calls for extreme measures. Oh, if only there was a way we can be young again, without any fuss or hustle at all..."

Suddenly, the phone rang and Nicole answered it. It was Lisa at the other end. She said, "Hi, Mom. I'm calling to let you know that I'm taking Jody and Greg to the art museum, so if you and Dad would like to come..."

Nicole replied, "Yes, Lisa, yes...of course, we would LOVE to come. It would be such an honor...okay, we'll see you there. Goodbye." She hung up, turned to George, and said, "I'd suggest we go to the art museum. At least looking at paintings will calm us down..."

George and Nicole met up with Lisa at the art museum. While walking down the corridors of the building with Professor Smedley-Smythe, Lisa told them that Bert had chosen to stay at home so he can get everything ready for the spring decoration contest. They then paused to look at a beautiful portrait of a young couple in royal clothing-the odd thing about them is that they bore a striking resemblance to George and Nicole!

"Ah, here is a rare and interesting exhibit that'll be sure to surprise you," said Professor Smedley-Smythe, introducing the portrait. "This picture, dating back to the 15th century, just so happens to be the wedding portrait of Prince Alan and Princess Alanna, of the kingdom of Raccoonshire. According to legend, an evil wizard placed a curse on the royal couple a few days after their marriage, trapping them in the very portrait you see here today. It is said that the spell could only be broken if the ghosts of the prince and the princess could find two mortals to take their place and finish up the job by destroying the evil wizard."

"That sure is interesting," said George. "Who is this evil wizard? And why did he put the curse on the prince and princess?"

Professor Smedley-Smythe pointed to another portrait, this time of an old wizard who looked exactly like Cyril Sneer. Jody said, "Hey, that man looks just like Cyril! I wonder if he and that wizard were related..."

While Lisa, Jody, Greg, and the professor left off to look at the other exhibits, George and Nicole stood there looking at the painting of the prince and princess. George said, "Just look at them, Nicole. This couple may look like us, but they have something that we don't have and that's their youthful appearance."

"If only we were just like that prince and princess," sighed Nicole. She placed her paw on the portrait (which, unbeknownst to them, glowed with a pale green aura). "If we had the same youth and vitality this couple had in times past, we wouldn't have to worry about growing old any more..."

Soon, it was closing time and the family left the art museum to go home. But they were unaware that something strange was about to happen to them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

With the Annual Evergreen Spring Fling Contest underway, almost everybody in town wanted to join in. Of all the entrants, only one group wanted to make to the top: Lloyd, Floyd, and Boyd and their wives Alicia, Melanie, and Zoza. That night at the Sneer Mansion, the pigs worked together to create something they knew would blow Madame de la Fleur's mind.

"What's going on down here?" shouted Cyril Sneer, coming down the stairs. "I can't sleep with all this racket hammerin' into my head!"

Floyd replied, "Sorry about the noise, boss-we're just working on our newest project to enter in the upcoming Annual Evergreen Spring Fling Contest. Would you like to see it?"

"No! All I wanted was some peace and quiet!"

"Well, if you insist..."

As soon as Cyril left, Alicia said, "How's the work on the project going, boys?"

"Right as rain," answered Lloyd. "But we gotta be quiet because our boss needs some sleep. Oh, we can't wait until we unleash it; everybody will be impressed!"

"Unlike the last time we entered the contest. We got 3rd Place for a float we did, with a fawn made completely out of old soda cans and metal wiring."

Boyd replied, "We know that. But THIS time, we managed to construct a foolproof way to launch us into 1st Place in no time. Behold!"

They removed the white sheet to reveal a giant robotic rabbit in a black tuxedo (with matching top hat), red bow tie, and it was holding a basket of easter eggs in both its paws. Zoza asked, "What's that?"

"The Easter Bunny, what else?" said Floyd. "Besides, spring wouldn't be spring without this big guy. If you turn up the switch on his back, he'll say 'Happy Easter' in ten different languages and he can even sing 'Here Comes Peter Cottontail' while doing a little hopping dance. Boy, will Madame de la Fleur be VERY impressed!"

"I gotta admit it's so impressive. But...perhaps you should've used a different spring theme."

"And ruin our chances to beat Bert and the other contestants? I don't think so. We built it to be the best and it's going to be the best! What's the worst that can happen, anyway?"

He tapped on the bunny, but just as he did that the bunny began to shake and come apart. Floyd chuckled nervously, "Heh-heh...guess it's back to the drawing board again."

Later that same night, the ghosts of Prince Alan and Princess Alanna had already escaped from their picture prisons and left the museum. Stretching his arms and yawning, Prince Alan muttered groggily, "Ohhhhh...finally...after all these years, we are free!"

"I am not quite sure," replied Princess Alanna, delicately stretching her tired legs. "That evil wizard had trapped us in the wedding portrait that had been painted for us. But, I seem to wonder...who woke us up? Whoever or whatever it may be, the person who revived us may have had the same goal as ours."

"And what could that be, my dearest Alanna?"

"Vanquish the wizard who placed a curse on us in the first place-if that deed is accomplished, we will then rest in peace."

"That is exactly what I have been thinking. Only one problem stands in the way, though...we're no longer mortals. However, I have a plan-what if we found two mortals in our image, took over their bodies, and used them to track down Old Astrus and force him to remove the spell on us?"

Princess Alanna stared at him. "You mean...those two mortals who were scrutinizing us earlier in the day, who go by the names of George and Nicole Raccoon? You must be out of your mind, Alan! There's no way we'd be doing that! If they saw us, they'd run away-you know how mortals are terribly afraid of ghosts like us, right?"

"Alanna, I assure you that they WON'T see us. Besides, do you recall what one of the raccoons said before leaving the museum?"

Princess Alanna looked back on the words Nicole had uttered before she and George left, which probably was the driving force in bringing the royal couple back from their long and deep slumber: "_If we had the same youth and vitality this couple had in times past, we wouldn't have to worry about growing old any more..._"

"You know, you could be right," she replied. "It is preferably a good idea to possess the couple, only on one condition: if we want our wish to come true, we'd have to fulfill theirs first."

They floated on into the night, until they reached George and Nicole's house. Gazing at the sleeping couple through the bedroom window, they knew they had chosen the perfect two mortals to do the job, and with that they flew in and took over their bodies. Once inside them, they controlled them and sent them sleepwalking to another museum to steal Renaisance-era royal costumes. The mission to destroy the wizard would start tomorrow...

The spring decoration contest was only a week away; so far everyone had been busy. The busiest one of all, Angel wanted her project to be as perfect as can be-no faults, no mess-ups, or anything of that sort. Unfortunately for the residents of Evergreen, she proved herself to be much of an "art nazi".

"Pink and red roses?" asked Molly puzzledly, as she watched Angel bring in bunches of said flowers. "You should be aware that those are flowers that bloom in the summer, not in spring."

Angel replied, "I understand that, but I figured the roses would add a unique touch to the house, besides the hyancinths and irises. They certainly help to bring out the magic of the season. Now, what else can I-" She gasped and saw Ron and Hillary rearranging the baby forest animals. She ran over to them and shouted, "No, no, NO! What did I just tell you? The plastic fawn goes to the right and the lamb to the left."

"But we thought you wanted them the opposite way," answered Ron.

"That wasn't what I said. Now put them back!"

Just then, Bentley ran over. He shouted, "Guys! Something's wrong with Mom and Dad!"

"What are you talking about, Bentley," said Bert. "We're still busy."

"I know, but this is important! When I woke up this morning and went down to eat breakfast with them, I could not believe what I was seeing. They were speaking in some sort of British accent and they were wearing costumes-medieval costumes, if you know what I mean!"

Lucky scoffed and muttered, "Get real. What could make you POSSIBLY think your parents would do something like that?"

It was only when they looked up that they saw George and Nicole approaching the Shorthair house-Nicole was wearing a beautiful red princess gown with a gold crown and George was wearing a blue-and-white prince's uniform. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

George bowed politely and said, "We send you greetings and good tidings, dear peasants. It is I, Prince Alan of Raccoonshire, and beside me is my beloved Princess Alanna. You need not be afraid of us-our main goal is determining the whereabouts of Old Astrus, the wizard who had bound us under a curse many years ago. Perhaps you have seen him?"

Bentley was right all along-there was something about George and Nicole that didn't seem right. Dressed in Renaissance costumes...speaking in British accents...claiming to be a prince and princess...had they really gone mad?

Snooper said, "Uh, George? Nicole? Are you two all right?"

"If you ask us, we are very well," replied Nicole with a smile. "In fact, we've never felt this alive in years! And to think we'd be stuck in that old wedding portrait for the next 600 years or so. Now, would you be so kind as to tell us where the wizard is?"

The people looked at each other. Jenny asked, "What IS wrong with them?"

"They must've hit their heads or something," commented Thomas. "In that way they wouldn't remember who they really are."

"Well, it's either that...or they've been watching too much of 'Faerie Tale Theatre'."

It was then that the gang decided to determine what was going on with George and Nicole. Who is Prince Alan and Princess Alanna? And why are they seeking someone called "Old Astrus"? The answers to those questions were just what they were about to look for.


End file.
